Thursday 19 February, 2009

Economy
UK

By Charles Gardner

I have an idea that among the contributing factors leading to our present economic impasse is the whole question of integrity at work. And I’m not just talking about greedy bankers; I’m referring to the workplace everywhere in this country where we all spend so much of our lives and where honesty, integrity and truth are too often in short supply. It was a deep concern of mine long before the current crisis erupted, but I was reminded of it again by the experience of Paul Moore, the ‘whistleblower’ whose allegations apparently led to the recent resignation of Sir James Crosby as deputy chairman of the Financial Services Authority. One of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s key advisers, Sir James is also former chief executive of HBOS.

But as the former head of regulatory risk at the troubled bank (from 2002 to 2005), Mr Moore says he repeatedly tried to warn his bosses about its reckless and excessive consumer lending only, he claims, to be sacked for his trouble.

“I felt like a man in a rowing boat trying to stop the Titanic heading for the iceberg,” he told the Daily Mail’s Helen Weathers.

But it was after his written testimony was presented to the Treasury Select Committee, who are conducting an inquiry into the banking crisis, that Sir James resigned from his post.

As I can testify from long experience in the workplace (I turn 60 this year) – mostly with newspapers but, perhaps ironically, having started in a bank – it seems increasingly to have become the case that managers like to be told what they want to hear, not what they need to hear.

If you rock the boat by suggesting that products are being shabbily turned out by incompetent staff with a careless attitude and an ever-diminishing attention to detail, finesse and quality, you are usually ignored as a worthless troublemaker. Better to press on towards the iceberg and sink with everyone on board than attempt to rescue the situation by turning the ship around into a new – perhaps uncharted – direction.

If you should just hint that someone may not be pulling their weight – something more essential than ever in the present economic climate – you may well be greeted by a nod and a grunt of acknowledgement. But no-one will investigate the matter. They seem to prefer sweeping potential problems under the carpet. There is a spineless attitude with regard to facing up to matters of ethics and integrity. And it is not dealt with because, it often seems, everyone is guilty and there is a need to cover up for one another.

Take the matter of expenses, over which even the Home Secretary is now coming under scrutiny. I can’t speak for other industries, but I know that it’s part of the culture of newspaper journalists to exaggerate their claims. I remember coming in for some stick from my colleagues some years ago for showing them up because mine only amounted to a fraction of theirs – and therefore suggested they were cheating!

But now of course inflated expenses – past and present – will have been a contributing factor in the downfall of some newspapers, finally sunk by the current crisis. Journalists expect to be believed by the public, but betray that trust by submitting dishonest expenses to their superiors.

It is interesting to note that Paul Moore is described as “a deeply religious man” educated at a Catholic public school who says his professional life has always been guided by his faith, conscience and moral code.

Like Mr Moore, I too have long endeavoured to follow these principles since my conversion to Christ in 1972 – while working in the City of London. And it seems that if we are to turn the Titanic of self-destructive lack of integrity around, mass conversion is what is required. A restoration of the Christian principles which made our country great is the only way out of the mess we are in.

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